The Indian Army has received its first indigenous remotely operated
vehicle (ROV), capable of diffusing improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The delivery of the initial batch of six units follows limited series
production (LSP) for 20 Daksh units awarded to DRDO's Research and
Development Establishment (R&DE - Engineers) in September 2010.

The robot has been developed by R&DE - Engineers in collaboration
with Tata Motors, Dynalog (I), Theta Controls and Bharat Electronics.

The battery-operated robot on wheels is primarily designed for the safe
handling and destruction of IEDs using multiple cameras, X-ray devices
and a strong manipulator arm with six degrees of freedom.

The ROV can be armed with an on-board shotgun for blasting through door
locks when tackling car bombs and will be useful for route clearance
operations on borders prone to terror attacks.

Indian Army Combat Engineers director general major general Rakesh Bassi
said the robot will be an important asset for the army's bomb disposal
units and will also be crucial for anti-terrorist operations.

DRDO's armament combat engineering chief controller S Sundaresh said:
"The ROVs will be deployed in the northern and eastern command areas of
the army and, based on the latter's feedback, the DRDO will develop a
further improvised variant called Daksh Mk-I."

The ROV package includes a carrier vehicle to carry the robot, six
personnel, a master control station, accessories and spare parts.
The army is scheduled to receive the remaining 14 units by the end of
2012 and is also planning to purchase an additional 100 ROVs in future.